STRINGSCALES

C messiaen's mode #3 Scale — Guitar Fretboard Visualization

Low E string: E, F#, G, Ab, Bb, B, C, D, Eb, E at frets 0, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12

A string: Bb, B, C, D, Eb, E, F#, G, Ab at frets 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11

D string: D, Eb, E, F#, G, Ab, Bb, B, C, D at frets 0, 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 12

G string: G, Ab, Bb, B, C, D, Eb, E, F#, G at frets 0, 1, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12

B string: B, C, D, Eb, E, F#, G, Ab, Bb, B at frets 0, 1, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12

High E string: E, F#, G, Ab, Bb, B, C, D, Eb, E at frets 0, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12

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C messiaen's mode #3

Messiaen's mode 3 is a nine note mode of limited transposition: whole step, half, half, repeated three times. Built from three augmented-triad axes filled in with half steps, it only has four distinct transpositions before repeating itself. Messiaen used its dense, stained-glass harmony throughout his organ and orchestral music; guitarists can mine it for symmetrical runs that never settle into a key.

it consists of these notes and degrees:

C

I

D

II

E♭

bIII

E

III

F♯

#IV

G

V

A♭

bVI

B♭

bVII

B

VII

messiaen's mode #3 in all 12 keys, with chords and related scales

tip
  • Learn C Messiaen mode 3 as the repeating cell whole-half-half, three times per octave; the cell, not the scale, is the practice unit.
  • It has only four distinct transpositions, so a lick moved up a major 3rd lands in the same collection: instant sequences.
  • Built on three augmented axes: arpeggiate the augmented triad on C and its neighbors, connecting them by half step for idiomatic lines.
  • Use it for dense, stained-glass chords: stack any four or five adjacent scale tones and the harmony is already Messiaen.

How to play C messiaen's mode #3 on guitar

Five open strings land in this key, and open G is the fifth, so a G pedal holds under moving lines with no fretting hand. Both E strings carry the major third. Lowest root sits at fret 8 on the low E, with the root nearest the nut on the B string at fret 1. Box one built off that low root ends at fret 12, which means the next shape takes over exactly four frets above the lowest root. Identical fingering carries to E and Ab, 4 and 8 semitones up, so one memorised shape covers three tonics.

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